List of ancient peoples of Italy

This list of ancient peoples living in Italy summarises all the different Italian populations that existed in antiquity; in historiography, they are generally referred to as the "Italic peoples" (in linguistics, this term has a stricter meaning and refers specifically to the sub-group of Indo-Europeans consisting of the Latino-Faliscans and Osco-Umbrians). Among these peoples, the Romans succeeded in Romanizing the entire Italian peninsula following the Roman expansion in Italy, which provides the time-window in which most of the names of the remaining ancient Italian peoples first appear in existing written documentation. Many names are exonyms assigned by the ancient writers of works in ancient Greek and Latin, while others are scholarly inventions.

Nearly all of these peoples and tribes spoke Indo-European languages: Italic languages, Celtic, Ancient Greek, in addition to intermediate positions between these language groups. On the other hand, some Italian peoples (such as the Rhaetians, Camuni, Etruscans) likely spoke non- or pre-Indo-European languages. In addition, peoples speaking languages of the Afro-Asiatic family, specifically the largely Semitic Phoenicians and Carthaginians, settled and colonized parts of western and southern Sardinia and western Sicily.

Speakers of non-Indo-European languages

Scholars believe - though sometimes on the basis of scanty evidence - that the following peoples spoke non-Indo-European languages. Some of them were Pre-Indo-Europeans or Paleo-Europeans while, with regard to some others, Giacomo Devoto proposed the definition of Peri-Indo-European (i.e. everything that has hybrid characters between Indo-European and non-Indo-European).Giacomo Devoto, Gli antichi Italici, Firenze, Vallecchi, 1931.

Sardinians

The Sardinians were possibly Sherden. Balares (Balari) Ilienses/Iolaes/Diagesbes (Iliensi/Iolei) Corsi (Possibly related to Ligures)

Tyrrhenians

The Tyrrhenians were the Etruscans and their linguistic relatives. Etruscans - Centered in Etruria with later influences stretching from the Po Valley to Campania.Etruria campanaStrabo. Geography. Book V, Chapter IV. Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022. Raeti Camunni

Others (classification uncertain) North Picenes - Centered on the Adriatic Coast with settlements around the region of Ancona.Piceni popolo d'Europa, Vv.Aa., Edizioni De Luca, Roma, 1999, p. 139 RutuliHazlitt, William. The Classical Gazetteer (1851), p. 297. Sicani Ligures

Speakers of Indo-European languages Proto-Indo-Europeans

Italo-Celtic

Italic and Celtic languages are commonly grouped together on the basis of features shared by these two branches and no others. This could imply that they are descended from a common ancestor and/or Proto-Celtic and Proto-Italic developed in close proximity over a long period of time.

Italic

Speakers of Italic languages included:

Latino-FaliscansVillar, cit., pp. 447-482. Latins- centered around the central plain of Italy between the Tiber and the Alban Hills. Romans- centered in the city of Rome. Falisci

Sicels Adriatic Veneti - centered in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of Veneto.Storia, vita, costumi, religiosità dei Veneti antichi at www.venetoimage.com (in Italian). Accessed on 2009-08-18. Carni Catali Catari Histri Liburnians Lopsi Secusses Venetulani Umbri - Centered in central Italy stretching from the Adriatic coast to the upper Tiber. Sabines - Centered north of Rome and by the river Tiber. Marsi - Centered around Lake Fucinus Volsci - Centered on the Pontine plain South Picenes Marrucini

Oscans - Centered in the part of Italy towards Tyrrhenia". Opici Aurunci/Ausones Sidicini Campanians - Centered in the region of Naples Mamertines Paeligni Frentani - Centered on the southern Adriatic coast. Samnites - Centered in central Italy, south-east of Rome north-east of Capua. Pentri Caraceni Caudini Hirpini Lucani - Centered on the south-western coast of Italy. Bruttii Oenotri Itali Morgetes Others Aequi HerniciLivy, Ab urbe condita, 2.22 Vestini EuganeiG. Micali, Storia degli antichi popoli italiani, Tomo II, Firenze 1832, p. 24.

Celts

The Celts of the Italian peninsula included, Cisalpine Gauls - Centered in the area south of Lepontii. Boii Carni Cenomani Lingones Senones Vertamocorii Gaesatae? Insubres Arverni Aedui Ambarri Aulerci Bituriges Carnutes

LeponticsJohn T. Koch (ed.) Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia ABC-CLIO (2005) Graioceli Lepontii Salassi Medulli Ceutrones Allobroges Veragri Helvetii Seduni

Ligures

The Ligures, who may have spoken Pre-Indo-European or an Indo-European language, were:

Ligures Apuani Bagienni Briniates Friniates Garuli Hercates Ilvates Orobii Laevi Lapicini Marici Segusini Statielli Taurini

Greeks

Sometimes referred in ancient sources as Pelasgi,Herodotus, Histories, ΚΛΕΙΩ 1.56.2: μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐφρόντιζε ἱστορέων τοὺς ἂν Ἑλλήνων δυνατωτάτους ἐόντας προσκτήσαιτο φίλους. ἱστορέων δὲ εὕρισκε Λακεδαιμονίους τε καὶ Ἀθηναίους προέχοντας, τοὺς μὲν τοῦ Δωρικοῦ γένεος, τοὺς δὲ τοῦ Ἰωνικοῦ. ταῦτα γὰρ ἦν τὰ προκεκριμένα, ἐόντα τὸ ἀρχαῖον τὸ μὲν ΠελασγικόνTranslation: Then he set out to examine who among the "Greeks" were the strongest, whom he could make friends with. And searching, he found that the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians were distinguished, the former among the Dorians, the latter among the Ionians. Because these nations were the best known, being in the old days the last Pelasgian the Ancient Greeks of the Italian peninsula included, Achaeans Dorians Ionians Italiotes Siceliotes

Others (classification uncertain) Iapygians or Apulians (possibly related to Illyrians) - Centered in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of Apulia. Messapians Peucetians Daunians Elymians, who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity.

Prehistoric archeological cultures

The specific identities or names of the tribes or groups of peoples that practiced these pre-Roman archeological cultures are mostly unknown. The posited existence of these archeological cultures is based on archeological assemblages of artifacts that share common traits and are found within a certain region and originate within a certain prehistoric period. Therefore, many of these archeological cultures may not necessarily correspond to a specific group of ancient people and, in fact, may have been shared among various groups of ancient peoples. The extent to which an archeological culture is representative of a particular cohesive ancient group of people is open for debate; many of these cultures may be the product of a single ancient Italian tribe or civilization (e.g. Latial culture), while others may have been spread among different groups of ancient Italian peoples and even outside of Italy. For example, Latial culture is believed to be the product specifically of the Ancient Latin tribe; the Canegrate culture and Golasecca culture have been associated with various ancient proto-Celtic, Celtic and Ligure tribes including the Lepontii, Orobii, and Insubres, while other archeological cultures may have been present among multiple groups throughout and beyond the Italian peninsula.

Neolithic Pre-Nuragic Sardinia Cardial Culture Grotta Verde culture Filiestru culture Bonu Ighinu culture San Ciriaco culture Arzachena culture Ozieri culture Gaudo culture

Copper Age Pre-Nuragic Sardinia Abealzu-Filigosa culture Monte Claro culture Sardinian Beaker culture Beaker culture Remedello culture Rinaldone culture Laterza culture Gaudo culture Conelle-Ortucchio culture Serraferlicchio culture Spilamberto group

Bronze Age

Apennine culture Bonnanaro culture Nuragic civilization Torrean civilization Canegrate culture Proto-Villanovan culture Polada culture Castelluccio Culture Thapsos Culture Terramare culture Castellieri culture Luco-Meluno culture Scamozzina culture

Iron Age Hallstatt culture La Tène culture Villanova culture Latial culture Este culture Golasecca culture Camunni culture Fritzens-Sanzeno culture

Genetics

A genetic study published in Science in November 2019 examined the remains of six Latin males buried near Rome between 900 BC and 200 BC. They carried the paternal haplogroups R-M269, T-L208, R-311, R-PF7589 and R-P312 (two samples), and the maternal haplogroups H1aj1a, T2c1f, H2a, U4a1a, H11a and H10. A female from the preceding Proto-Villanovan culture carried the maternal haplogroups U5a2b. These examined individuals were distinguished from preceding populations of Italy by the presence of ca. 25-35% steppe ancestry. Overall, the genetic differentiation between the Latins, Etruscans and the preceding proto-villanovan population of Italy was found to be insignificant.

List of ancient peoples of Italy

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